The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly signing former New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe to their practice squad, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Wednesday.
This move comes after the Patriots announced Zappe’s release on Tuesday.
The quarterback room in New England grew too crowded with the arrivals of Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye and Joe Milton III. Zappe wasn’t beating out Brissett for the top veteran job, and he had even less of a shot at outlasting the two rookies, Maye and Milton.
A move to Kansas City should give the former fourth-round draft pick a much-needed reset. In New England, he played musical chairs at the starting quarterback position with Mac Jones for the last two years.
It was mostly a dysfunctional situation with defensive play-callers coaching the offense, limited receiving weapons and bad offensive line play. Zappe started in six games last season and finished with 1,272 passing yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions.
There was also the fact that he was booed relentlessly just for stepping on the field to play quarterback.
Bailey Zappe walks out on the field for New England's third offensive drive
Scott Zolak: "Uh Oh"
And Patriots fans are booing pic.twitter.com/zGG7p9vTok
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 8, 2024
It wasn’t a productive situation for a 25-year-old quarterback who can still be a serviceable backup in the NFL.
What better way to turn things around than aligning with the best quarterback and coach in the game in Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid?